Top 10 Classic Hollywood Movies with the Greatest Soundtracks

“Where were you in ’62?” This is the question asked by the movie poster for 1973’s “American Graffiti.” The film is a nostalgic love letter and a look back to the youth of director George Lucas. A childhood full of fast cars, young love and music. LOTS of music. And great music, too. “American Graffiti” possessed a soundtrack chock full of classic oldies tunes, and it's these songs that help drive the movie’s storylines and character motivations. The track listing is a veritable who’s who of just about every hit the producers could afford to clear. These include, but aren’t limited to, “Rock Around the Clock,” “16 Candles,” “Runaway” and more, from artists as diverse as Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and The Beach Boys.

Many of the best movie soundtracks possess a bit of the DNA from the time period during which they were released. 1969’s “Midnight Cowboy” and our next pick from that same year fit this bill. “Easy Rider” juxtaposes hippie idealism with the oncoming storm of 1970s bummer culture, and its soundtrack seems to know this well. As a result, there’s some strong examples of psychedelic rock from artists like The Byrds and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. However, there’s also a heavier and grittier dark side to the soundtrack. A side exemplified by the “heavy metal thunder” of Steppenwolf and the gothic experimentalism of producer David Axelrod[a] and The Electric Prunes. Energy. Rebellion. Freedom. These words and more describe the “Easy Rider” listening experience.

It wasn’t exactly common for movies produced during the era of “Casablanca” to have home media copies of their soundtracks available for public purchase. That’s why there was some real cause for celebration, back when this film’s soundtrack was finally released on CD back in 1997. Max Steiner[b]’s contributions to “Casablanca” are primarily orchestral, however the movie possesses a number of all-time classics with songs like “As Time Goes By,” “Knock On Wood” and “It Had to be You” going on to help define the film for movie-lovers. There’s a feeling of wistfulness and romanticism that’s impossible to separate from the music here, and it’s helped retain “Casablanca” as a stone-cold Hollywood classic.

The Beatles were at the height of their early, teeny-bop fame when they starred in 1964’s “A Hard Day’s Night.” The movie’s soundtrack underlines just how difficult composing this sort of economic, “pop” material can be at this level. As a result, “A Hard Days’ Night” is completely brilliant, since it demonstrates just how infectious The Fab Four’s music was at this time. “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “She Loves You” and “I’m Happy Just to Dance With You” may all share one common theme, but it’s a universal one. The love and perceived innocence of the 1960s practically permeates this soundtrack with a floral smell of free love and musical idealism. So dive in.

Adapting a successful stage play to the screen is always a gamble, but thankfully 1965’s “The Sound of Music” had an ace up its sleeve. It’s listed right there in the title, too, as the titular “music” here has gone on to become just as iconic as its movie adaptation. “My Favorite Things,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” “Do-Re-Mi” and the title song have all entered the cultural consciousness and lived there, rent-free, for decades. The same goes for songs like “So Long, Farewell,” tunes that are so well known, that they become parody fodder for shows like “Family Guy.” Simply said, “The Sound of Music” makes you feel good. And what could be wrong with that?

Hey, here’s a question: why is the main title theme to “Grease” a disco tune, when the film is set during the 1950s? Yeah, we know the film was produced during the disco era, and if we’re being honest, the “Grease” theme is such a banger, we don’t even care. This classic movie musical isn’t only limited to songs from Frankie Valli, however, as “Grease” also contains all of those hits you love, from “Summer Nights” and “Greased Lightnin’” to “Beauty School Dropout” and “Born to Hand Jive.” There’s a lot of whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on, that’s for sure, but also a lot of rockin’, rollin’…and oh yeah, that disco.

The 1961 film adaptation of “West Side Story” from director Robert Wise stands as one of the most respected musical films of all time. It also just happens to have one of the best soundtracks of all time, a nicely balanced mixture of orchestral brilliance and some truly iconic songwriting. Songs from the original production include “Maria,” “Tonight” and “I Feel Pretty,” and they’ve all gone on to become standards. “West Side Story'' is just one of those classic American movies that consistently seems to find an audience, generation after generation. And with a soundtrack this good, it’s easy to see why.

It wasn’t exactly commonplace back in 1967 for Hollywood movies to possess a pop soundtrack. There were exceptions, sure, but Simon and Garfunkel’s work on “The Graduate” set a new standard for how pop music could be utilized within a film. It also helped legitimize this sort of music as a means with which to convey characters’ feelings and emotions. The soundtrack to “The Graduate” is so powerful and evocative that it feels like another character. Songs like “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs. Robinson” and “Scarborough Fair” work wonderfully with compositional cues from Paul Simon and Dave Grusin[c], and it all comes together within a film that, for many, helped define the 1960s.

The Blaxploitation film genre features an embarrassment of soundtrack riches. This is particularly true if your musical tastes lean towards soul, jazz and funk. The soundtracks to “Super Fly '' and “Trouble Man” are both stone cold classics of the genre, but only one bad mutha stands above them. We’re just talkin’ about Shaft, and we can dig it. Isaac Hayes’ soundtrack to this 1971 hit almost single handedly broke the mold for what a Blaxploitation soundtrack was supposed to achieve. Oh there’s some fire score cues on here for sure, but film fans primarily remember “Shaft” for its titular theme song. This is a tour-de-force of bravado and style, a funky ode to the private dick who’s a sex machine to all the chicks.

Our number one pick actually ties into the “Grease” soundtrack in a unique way. That’s because lead John Travolta ended 1978 with not one, but BOTH of the top-selling soundtracks of that year. One of them was “Grease,” and the other was this all-time disco SMASH. The soundtrack to “Saturday Night Fever” has sold more than forty million copies, and it defines a decade of leisure suits, sequins and dancing. It’s primarily a showcase for hits from the Bee Gees, including “Night Fever” and “Stayin’ Alive,” but there’s a lot of other great stuff, too. Walter Murphy’s danceable classical hybrid, “A Fifth of Beethoven,” stands out, as does excellent material from Tavares[d] and composer David Shire. This one is worth the hype.

What’s your favorite old school movie soundtrack? Let us know in the comments!





Trivia

The group Smith was hired to cover which artist for the Easy Rider soundtrack?

The Who
The Doors
The The

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_Rider_(soundtrack)


Dave Grusin composed the score for which 1975 thriller?

The Nickel Ride
Little Fauss and Big Halsy
Three Days of the Condor (CORRECT)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Days_of_the_Condor#Soundtrack

Rick Dees’ Disco Duck was omitted from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack

TRUE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Night_Fever#Soundtrack

Isaac Hayes only wrote for one Blaxploitation movie

FALSE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Hayes_discography

[b]https://youtu.be/eQuNnzH6_g8?si=5NMTqEf6lmiiFLmR&t=24
[c]https://youtu.be/XHN3RQgIcm0?si=JyD5JQ4l7z5Dp5sx&t=36
[d]tuh-VAWRRIS https://youtu.be/735qdTrfEMo?si=X4hMu1lMHsTZDbwx&t=10
https://youtu.be/nRMND_jDxU8?si=nSBSRhDRuyseA-Gt&t=12